First attempt at re-hydrating

[Stick]

So, during a recent 'stock check' I discovered that a few of my bagged 'harder to get hold of' blends that I save for special occasions and that are a year or so old were becoming a little a dry. After consulting Mr YouTube for guidance I emptied the blends into bowls, laid a damp paper towel over the top and sealed with a saucer. Some of the blends I had to repeat this a couple of times with until they would clump when squeezed. What I hadn't bargained on is how much of a difference it would make to the taste. As the drying process happened over a period of time I didn't really notice the change, but after the re-hydration the complexities of the 'baccy has instantly returned. To try to combat this happening again I'm currently experimenting with using a large Tupperware container with a rolled up damp paper towel tucked into one corner to act as a humidor. Into this I've placed my opened tins and baggies. We'll see how it goes. I've also just returned from an outing to Ikea where I scored several Kilner style jars as I reckon these might improve things a little. I have to say I'm almost enjoying the 'tinkering' as much as the smoke!

 

[ftrplt]

Yo Stick!! I'm going to suggest you put that rolled up wet/damp paper towel into a large baggy also. I do this so that I can put a bit more water into the baggy thus keeping the paper towel at a constant moisture level. This is how I typically rehydrate pipe 'baccy and how I keep my cigars at a fairly constant moisture content. Just some "food for thought!' Cheers Matey :cheers: FTRPLT

 

[Stick]

Yo Stick!! I'm going to suggest you put that rolled up wet/damp paper towel into a large baggy also. I do this so that I can put a bit more water into the baggy thus keeping the paper towel at a constant moisture level. This is how I typically rehydrate pipe 'baccy and how I keep my cigars at a fairly constant moisture content. Just some "food for thought!' Cheers Matey :cheers: FTRPLT

Hey FTRPLT! Sorry mate, I'm not sure I follow old chap...? Put the wet paper towel in a plastic bag, keep the end open and then place in the Tupperware?

 

[Brewdude]

David mate, if you're going that route be sure to use distilled water only! Tap water can and often does contain all sorts of things like chlorine, fluoride, and such that you don't want to taint you're precious pipe weed.

Your "Kilner" jars sound like what we call "Mason" jars. So that's always your best storage options. Unless you plan on smoking the re-hydrated 'baccy soon that is.

HTH


Cheers,

RR

 

[KevinM]

What you're doing To hydrate your desiccated stash is fine, but an alternative I use is as follows -- get one of those "spritzer" bottles, some distilled water, and borrow a colander from the kitchen. Put the dry tobacco n the colander, set the spritzer on the lightest setting and spritz a very small amount in a "fog cloud" over the tobacco, allowing the fog to settle on it like dew. Do not spritz the tobacco directly; you don't want to even come close to saturating any part of it. Before tucking the tobacco into a Mason jar, toss it a bit, like a salad, to sort it out evenly. Then let it sit in the jar for a few weeks. I've found the flavor and smoothness of overly dry tobacco can be recovered with this method. For short-term rehydration of small quantities, the Atmos disks have worked well for me. To rehydrate a pipeful of tobacco, just breathe into the full bowl before lighting, though this should only be done privately, since it can cause friends to display their sixth grade sense of wit. I have a suspicion that the aversion to using tap water may only apply to long-term storage. My understanding is that tobacco should not be hydrated if it is going to be aged, though others may disagree. My experience with hydrating aged tins is that the spritzer method works fine and allows more control than the alternatives.

 

[KevinM]

P.S. I meant to add to my post a question -- has anyone, while hydrating tobak,added a nip of rum or whatever to the spirits or cloth? I've long wanted to do this, but when I'm actually in the process, I plumb fergit, until the jar is sealed.

 

[nismo270r]

Yo Stick!! I'm going to suggest you put that rolled up wet/damp paper towel into a large baggy also. I do this so that I can put a bit more water into the baggy thus keeping the paper towel at a constant moisture level. This is how I typically rehydrate pipe 'baccy and how I keep my cigars at a fairly constant moisture content. Just some "food for thought!' Cheers Matey :cheers: FTRPLT

Hey FTRPLT! Sorry mate, I'm not sure I follow old chap...?  Put the wet paper towel in a plastic bag, keep the end open and then place in the Tupperware?

I use a similar process when rehydrating dried out blends. I use a "snack size" ziplock bag, a half sheet of paper towel, and a spray bottle with distilled water. Fold the paper towel twice length-wise and spritz with distilled water until the whole towel is damp, but not dripping. Place in the ziploc bag and close the bag leaving a small opening in the middle. I push the top of the bag together a bit from the left and right to bend the opening some so it stays open better. Place tobacco and bag into an air tight container and wait. Keep an eye on the paper towel, even with distilled water, sometimes you can get some funkiness on the paper towel if it picks up anything from the tobacco. If you see any spots starting to form on the paper towel, just pitch it and the bag and swap in a new one. If the towel looks good and has dried out, but your tobacco isn't where you want it, just re-spritz your towel, rinse and repeat.

Here's a couple of quick photos so my contraption makes more sense:

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I do something similar, using a damp paper towel & distilled water. However I use a disposable Ziplock container. Just make sure the towel doesn't touch the baccy. Here's a pic of my last rehydration project. Turned out good.

BTW, the seal on those anchovy style Germain Flake tins are worthless.

 

[Timbo]

I regularly rehydrate dry tins with a splash or two of whiskey, as I've never distilled water around. It doesn't seem to have much effect on taste, just rehydrates the baccy nicely after letting it sit for a few days.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Dutch]

I second the recommendation for distilled water. I also use Tupperware containers to rehydrate, but I just simply mist the inside of the lid. Usually within 24 hours the tobacco has absorbed the moisture from the underside of the lid, enabling me to repeat the process if need be.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

I do something similar, using a damp paper towel & distilled water. However I use a disposable Ziplock container. Just make sure the towel doesn't touch the baccy. Here's a pic of my last rehydration project. Turned out good.

BTW, the seal on those anchovy style Germain Flake tins are worthless.

Yes, they are not good seals.....

Otherwise, all good suggestions for rehydration....

 

[alandadp]

Oh come on Stick! Just leave it outside for a day - the British climate will re-hydrate anything!! :lol!:

 

[nismo270r]

I do something similar, using a damp paper towel & distilled water. However I use a disposable Ziplock container. Just make sure the towel doesn't touch the baccy. Here's a pic of my last rehydration project. Turned out good.

BTW, the seal on those anchovy style Germain Flake tins are worthless.

+1 those are the same type of containers I use as well. I toss the tobacco and bag in and let 'er rip!

 

[Stick]

Thanks for all your replies and thoughts fellas. There's a few other methods there I'll give a shot in due course. Misting the inside of a tuppaware container seems very straight forward Dutch as it misses out the paper towel middleman.

Nismo - what you said makes perfect sense, thank you.

Rande - I'd read somewhere never to use tap water but didn't have any distilled water. A good rummage in the cupboard revealed some bottled spring water which I considered to be the next best alternative. Certainly no unsavoury smells present, and it seems to have worked ok.

As for using spirits I'm intrigued. I think I'll try that on a straight 'ginny of some sort to see if I can detect any added flavour.

Adam - fair point, that did make me laugh! That said, we have been blessed with what some would call and Indian Summer over the last two weeks...?!

 

[ftrplt]

Yo Stick!! I'm going to suggest you put that rolled up wet/damp paper towel into a large baggy also. I do this so that I can put a bit more water into the baggy thus keeping the paper towel at a constant moisture level. This is how I typically rehydrate pipe 'baccy and how I keep my cigars at a fairly constant moisture content. Just some "food for thought!' Cheers Matey :cheers: FTRPLT

Hey FTRPLT! Sorry mate, I'm not sure I follow old chap...?  Put the wet paper towel in a plastic bag, keep the end open and then place in the Tupperware?

Late answer, but Yes!!! May sound funny but works well. It does take a bit longer than the "plate" method! :cheers: FTRPLT

 

[Stick]

Yo Stick!! I'm going to suggest you put that rolled up wet/damp paper towel into a large baggy also. I do this so that I can put a bit more water into the baggy thus keeping the paper towel at a constant moisture level. This is how I typically rehydrate pipe 'baccy and how I keep my cigars at a fairly constant moisture content. Just some "food for thought!' Cheers Matey :cheers: FTRPLT

Hey FTRPLT! Sorry mate, I'm not sure I follow old chap...?  Put the wet paper towel in a plastic bag, keep the end open and then place in the Tupperware?

Late answer, but Yes!!! May sound funny but works well. It does take a bit longer than the "plate" method! :cheers: FTRPLT

Got it! Thank you!

 

[mikesan]

I regularly rehydrate dry tins with a splash or two of whiskey, as I've never distilled water around. It doesn't seem to have much effect on taste, just rehydrates the baccy nicely after letting it sit for a few days.

Cheers

Tim

I use a modification of this method. I use a spritzer bottle containing scotch (not my single malt) and spray an amount commensurate with the degree of dryness and amount of tobacco in the jar. Close the airtight container and give a shake or two. The laws of physics dictate that the hydration will be quite uniform after a day or two. If insufficient, you can repeat. If too much, just leave the lid off for a few hours.

 

[Stick]

Thanks Mike. Noting Timbo's comments, do you experience any change in taste?

 

[mikesan]

Thanks Mike. Noting Timbo's comments, do you experience any change in taste?

A slight change in the jar aroma, but no change when smoking.

 

[Timbo]

Funnily enough, I was just coming here to update this post. I rehydrated some Westminster which was a bit dry with some Bushmills Black Bush a few days ago and opened it tonight. The tin aroma was significantly whiskey but the taste was the same smokey, leathery beauty that it always is. I think this is because the whiskey has similar flavour tones as the Latakia.

As I rarely smoke straight VA or VA/Per I would have no clue about the flavour given to them from whiskey from rehydration.

Cheers

Tim